Railway-signal.



No. 747,142. PATENTED DEC. 15, 1903.-

H. GOGAN.

RAILWAY SIGNAL.

I APPLIOATION FILED APR. 2a. 1903. no MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEIIT 1.

No. 747,142. PATENTED DEC. 15, 1903. H. M. OOGAN. RAILWAY SIGNAL.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 28. 1903.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETSSHBET 2.

Patented December 15, 1903.

PATENT EETEE.

HENRY MANNING COGAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RAILVVAY SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 747,142, dated December 1903- Application fi-lcd April 28, 1903. Serial No. 154,626. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY MANNING Co- GAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of New York, in the borough of Brooklyn and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Signals, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to automatic rail way-signals in which the road is divided into blocks and the signals set to danger and cleared successively as the car moves along.

The invention is applicable to both single and double track roads; and the essential feature of it is a relay consisting of two independent electromagnets adapted to move a single circuit-closing device step by step in opposite directions, the circuit-closing device controlling the signal itself. A movementof the circuit-controlling device by one magnet will close the signal-circuit,while one or more further movements in the same direction will not further change the signal-circuit,but will require a corresponding number of motions by the other magnet to reverse the signal. This feature is utilized in two ways--first, a car or train will energize one of the magnets to set the signal to danger and thereafter will energize the other magnet to set the signal to clear; second, one car or train can follow another into a block with the knowledge that there is another ahead of it and Without changing the danger-signal at the entrance of the block until both cars have passed out, whereupon the last car to leave the block restores the signal to clear at the entrance to the block. When it is desired that only a certain number of cars shall be in a block at the same time, an extra signal can be used in the manner hereinafter described to indicate that the block is full.

I have illustrated my invention in connection with a trolley-road in which contacts are arranged upon or near the trolley-wire to be struck as the car passes.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a conventional plan of my invention with some parts omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig. 2 is a conventional representationof the relay and a signal controlled thereby,and Fig. 3 is a detail of the contacts of the relay.

The relay consists of a circuit-controlling with the usual practice.

disk a and two electromagnetsf and g. The disk at has two sets of teeth on its periphery, one arranged each side of the center and pointing in opposite directions. The disk carries a metallic segment I), and opposed to it is a fixed contact'finger c. The disk also is provided with a contact-plate d, adapted to engage at certain times with a second fixed finger c. fand g are two solenoidal electromagnets, one arranged each side of the disk and their armatures carrying hooks f and g, adapted to engage, respectively, with the two sets of teeth onthe disk. When one magnet is energized, the disk will be moved the space of one notch in a certain direction, while energizing the other magnet will move the disk the same distance in the opposite direction. The signal controlled by this relay may be of any selected character, a hydraulic or pneumatic valve may be moved, or a semaphore and lamp may be operated. Hence as to this feature my invention is not in any way restricted As shown,thelocal circuit controlled by the relay includes an electromagnet h, which when energized will throw a semaphorearm 'i to the danger position and at the same time throw alamp if into circuit for night use. The light is supposed to be located behind a glass in the semaphore-arm in accordance The local circuit to supply solenoid It leads from any suitable source over wire'l, through cut-out 2, the magnet, wire 3, contact a, and, when the circuit is complete, segment I), and to ground by wire at. The magnet 70 is supposed to operate an extra signal and is in circuit with a wire leading from any suitable source to the contact-finger e, and when the circuit is closed to the plate dand to ground. The cutting 2 shunts the lamp until the magnet has lifted the semaphore. At the end of the stroke of the core of the solenoid the cut-out is opened and the lamp thrown into circuit. This affords the full strength of the magnet to move the arm and sufficient strength to hold it in position after it is moved.

Fig. 1 shows the equipment for a singletrack railway affording protectionto the trains against both rear-end and head-on collisions. The blocks are defined by turnouts in the track, the trolley-wire beingindicated by 0 and the two branches at the turnouts by nor as before.

0 and 0 The cars take the righthand branches going in each direction, and at the entrance to the branch is placed a contactpiece 0 which the trolley-wheel strikes to send current into the signaling-circuits. At the end of each block are placed four relays p q r 8, each having two magnetsfg and an extra magnet is and each adapted to operate its own signal. The signals can be located in any desired manner with respect to each other at the roadside; but for convenience of illustration I have indicated the signals which are operated by cars going in one direction on one sideof the track, while those operated by cars going in the other direction are on the other side of the track. When the car A entered block X going west, it sent current from point 0 through Wires 5, 6, and 7 to ground through the g or danger-magnet of relays g at the entrance of the block and p at the forward end of the block, thus indicating to cars following A that the block is occupied by a car moving in the same direction and indicating to a car approaching A on block Y that block X is occupied by a car approaching it. When A reaches the end of block X, it closes a circuit through the clearing-magnetfof the q relay at the entrance of the block, as well as magnetfof thep relay at the end of the block, thus clearing both signals whichithad previously settodanger and opening the block X to cars approaching it from either direction. At the same time the car A set the danger-signals of the q relay at the entrance of block Y and the 10 relay at the end of block Y in the same man- Oar B, traveling in the opposite direction, operates a different set of signals through the relays r and s and in exactly the same way as explained in connection with car A. The car first to entera clear block from either direction has the right of way by setting the signals against others trav' eling in either direction. The. signals that are set for cars that follow those that set the signals may be of a difierent color or character from those that are set for approaching cars. The former may be a green light and green semaphore, while the latter may be a red light and red semaphore.

With this system cars can be permitted to follow each other into a block and still be protected. The first car entering will set the qor green signal at the entrance. The next will follow it with caution and in passing contact 0 will actuate the g magnets of the relays a second time without changing the signal. A third and fourth car may enter and do the same thing; but finally when the number permitted in a block have entered the last movement of magnet 9 brings contacts d and e together and closes the circuit of magnet to set a signal warning other cars not to follow. The first car out of the block will clear this auxiliary signal it, while the other two signals for other following and approaching cars will not be cleared until the last car has passed out of the block, since it requires as many movements of the relaydisks in thereverse direction to open the circuit as were given it by the cars on entering.

On double-track roads,where the cars travel in one direction only on each track, only one relay and signal is used at each block-limit, the car successively setting the signal on entering the blocks and clearing on leaving, except in cases where a number of cars are permitted on a single block, when the last cars passing out clears the block.

It will be understood that the signals may be held to danger by either an open or closed circuit, the relay being easily adapted for either. As shown, the closed circuit is used; but by overcounterweighting the semaphore and using the current to hold it to clear a defective circuit will permit the signal to go to danger and hold up the cars until the defect is restored.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In a railway-signal,a single track divided into blocks, two independent signals at each block-limit, a circuit-controller at each blocklimit operated by the cars, circuits whereby when a circuit-controller is actuated by the car both signals at the corresponding blocklimit are operated while one signal at the limit ahead and another at the limit behind are also operated for the purpose of indicating the direction of movement of the actuating-car, and means whereby a car immediately following another into a block will not change the condition of the signals, substantially as described.

2. In a railway-signal, the combination of a track divided into blocks, two signals at each blocklimit, a relay controlling both signals, a circuit-controller actuated by the cars and in circuit with the relay, means whereby repeated actuations of the circuitcontroller will not change one of the signals after it has been once set and means whereby the relay will operate the second signal after the circuit-controller has been actuated a predetermined number of times.

In witness whereof I subscribe my signature in presence of two witnesses.

H. MANNING COGAN.

Witnesses: I

FRANK S. OBER,

WALDO M. CHAPIN. 

